Leave your cages on your dock for an hour or so to let last week’s growth dry out and die.

Set a timer so that you don’t forget to put your oysters back in the water!

Make sure your oysters are evenly distributed on the bottom of the cage and put them back in the water.

Please make sure that your cages never rest on the creek or river bottom. The oysters will quickly become smothered in mud and die.

That’s it for this week. Please call Julie at 410-822-9143 if you have any problems with the maintenance of your cages. Talk to you next week!

Sincerely,

Scott W. Eglseder, Founder

The Chesapeake Bay Oyster Reef Recovery Initiative

P.S. A reminder from Julie – We are seeing and hearing of many “sea squirt” colonies that are showing up in cages. As we mentioned in an earlier letter, the Tunicates (known locally as sea squirts) are harmless to the oysters with the exception that they are each fighting for space in the cages. If the Tunicates are taking over your cages we recommend brushing them off the outside of your cages and/or opening your cages to remove them. They typically grow in clusters similar to how the oysters grow so you should be able to reach in and easily remove the bunches of Tunicates that are growing inside your cages. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact Julie.